Microsoft spurs spin cycle in D.C.

Two opponents on Capitol Hill weigh in on news that the software giant and state and federal antitrust regulators are trying to settle their differences.

May 14, 19984:50 PM PDT

The Microsoft spin cycle continues,
with two opponents on Capitol Hill weighing in on news that the software
giant and state and federal antitrust regulators are trying to settle their
differences without going to court.

Sen. Slade Gorton
(R-Washington), issued a statement today saying that regulators' decision to
negotiate with Microsoft "is the latest in a series of backpedaling by the
Justice Department and states attorneys
general. The states attorneys general thought they had found a pot of gold.
Now they have changed their tune and, in their continued attempts to save
face, they are not putting the interests of the consumer first."

Sen. Slade Gorton

Gorton has long been a supporter of Microsoft, which employs the majority of
its 22,000 employees in his state.

Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin Hatch,
Microsoft's nemesis inside the Beltway for nearly a year now, issued a statement today that
said the settlement talks bolster regulators' arguments.

Orrin Hatch

"The fact that Microsoft is negotiating with the Justice Department and apparently is
prepared to make substantial concessions certainly undermines any argument
that Justice has no case," Hatch said. "The fact that Microsoft itself has
offered to delay the shipment of Windows 98 in order to forestall DOJ
action certainly undermines its prior rhetoric that any such delay would
have dramatic consequences for the industry."

Hatch's state of Utah is home to some of Microsoft's most bitter
competitors, including Novell and Caldera. As chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary
Committee, Hatch oversees the Justice Department and has held two
hearings to scrutinize Microsoft's business practices.

As reported,
the Justice Department and nearly two dozen state attorneys general had
been prepared to file a suit alleging a broad course of anticompetitive
practices on the part of Microsoft. Earlier today, the parties agreed to
enter into negotiations that could lead to a settlement, and regulators promised not to take action
during the talks. Microsoft, in return, agreed to delay the shipment of Windows 98
to computer vendors until Monday, instead of tomorrow, as scheduled.